Chaos Dwarfs
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Chaos Dwarfs are an off-shoot of the Dwarfs of the Warhammer Fantasy setting who have been corrupted by Chaos.
They appear in Warhammer Fantasy Battle (WFB), Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Blood Bowl and other games produced by Games Workshop. The Chaos Dwarfs are no longer directly supported as an individual army like most in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle table top game. They no longer have their own "army book" or current range of miniatures in the shops. Players of the game must instead use the Ravening Hordes rules and buy miniatures direct from the Games Workshop Online Store.
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[edit] In game history
The background and rules for chaos Dwarfs appeared in early editions of WFB and they were given an entry in Warhammer Armies for the 3rd edition. However for the 4th edition and later they were never given a proper Warhammer Armies book published as was the case for other armies but instead had material that had already been published over a period of time in White Dwarf magazine issued as a separate publication: White Dwarf presents: Chaos Dwarfs
In the 1990s, the Chaos Dwarfs were a fully supported army but were dropped due to lack of popularity with players. It was thought they might have been removed from the game entirely, like the Squats in Warhammer 40,000. However, recent announcements indicate that a new army will be released within the next two years. [citation needed]
[edit] Chaos Dwarf Society
Chaos Dwarfs are found to the east of the civilized lands, where their ancestors were settled long before they were caught by Chaos. The Chaos Dwarfs, or Dawi Zharr (Khazalid for "Dwarfs of Fire") as they are properly called, hate their non-Chaotic brethren immensely. They are unlike other Warhammer dwarfs in many ways, being enthusiastic slavers with orc and goblin slaves, as well as humans, under hobgoblin overseers. Many of them are potent sorcerers, having abandoned the ancestral Dwarf rune magic in favor of more conventional sorcery. They worship Hashut, the "Father of Darkness", instead of the Dwarf ancestor gods.
Chaos Dwarfs are portrayed in a semi-Assyrian/Babylonian style. Their beards are arranged in vertical curls, and their armour, weapons and architecture are reminiscent of these cultures. They have been largely unaffected by the warping effects of Chaos, unlike humans who become readily corrupted by it. The major exceptions are the development of long, tusk-like lower canine teeth and that some have become centaur-like mutants "Bull Centaurs" with the lower bodies of bulls. These creatures guard the Temple of Hashut in Zharr Nagrund, their capital.
Unlike most of the races in the Warhammer World, the Dawi Zharr see little need for further campaigns into distant lands to gain more land or belongings; they have all the slaves they need in the Mountains of Mourn and the Darklands, along with more material wealth than they actually need (although being dwarfs, this is never quite enough).
[edit] The Chaos Dwarf lands
The Chaos Dwarfs have but one major city, "Zharr Naggrund". Zharr Naggrund is situated in the middle of the Plain of Zharr, a massive crater in the Darklands full of underground workshops and mines. All of their activity goes toward building and preserving this city. It is in the form of a massive ziggurat, with gates larger than there is any need for. On the top of the city is the Temple of Hashut, where slaves are sacrificed. The Bull Centaurs guard their charges here and gaze out on the road below. The city was almost wiped out when the Chaos Dwarfs made a massive rocket called the Hammer of Hashut. It flew off course and nearly wiped out the city, but thankfully only a few goblin tribes were killed.
[edit] History of the Chaos Dwarfs
Thousands of years ago, the a group of Dwarfs moved northwards from its ancestral home somewhere in the Southlands. They moved along the high ridge of the mountains known as the World’s Edge Mountains, following the trail of mineral ores and precious gems, eventually reaching the region at the far north of the World’s Edge Mountains which they called Zorn Uzkul or the Great Skull Land. This was a vast, cold, and inhospitable plateau where the air was thin and the rocks bare. From this point, some of the Dwarfs turned east and then south along the barren Mountains of Mourn.
Then came the Time of Chaos. The Dwarfs who dwelled west believed that those who had travelled east had been destroyed by the tides of Chaos that swelled in from the north, but this was not true. The strong forces of Chaos did not fatally mutate the hardy Dwarfs as it would have done for weaker species such as humans, instead it changed them.
Most Chaos Dwarf have a few small mutations such as big tusks and leathery skin, the odd one or other have hooves instead of feet.
[edit] Society
[edit] Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers
The Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers rule over the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund as the lords and masters of the Chaos Dwarfs and high priests of Hashut. they specialize in the study of machines and magic combined to produce arcane engines of power and destruction. There are only a few, probably no more than a few hundred amongst the whole Chaos Dwarf race. There is no leader nor formal heirarchy; the the strongest voices are the oldest and most powerful. Each Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer controls part of the city, with its own workshops and forges, slaves and warriors, as part of his personal dominion. Chaos Dwarfs are resistant but not immune to magic. The more Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers use magic the more it affects them. Although slow the process once started is inexorable. From the feet up they slowly turn to stone. After a while the entire body has turned to stone and he becomes a statue to be placed along with the others lining the roadways around the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund,
[edit] Chaos Dwarf Warriors
There are relatively few Chaos Dwarfs. The vast numbers of slaves who toil in the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund and in the Plain of Zharrduk outnumber them many times over. All the Chaos Dwarfs belong to one of the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers, they are his subjects and also his kinsmen, bonded by ties of blood-loyalty which all Chaos Dwarfs deem unbreakable. Bands of Chaos Dwarfs scour the Dark Lands searching for captives to bring back to Zharr-Naggrund to work in the mines and forges, or to sacrifice at the Temple of Hashut. The acquisition of slaves is very important to Chaos Dwarfs because they are totally dependent upon captives to keep their city and industries going. Bands of Chaos Dwarfs will travel many hundreds of miles to raid Orc or Goblin strongholds in the Mountains of Mourn, and when they conquer a tribe they take as many prisoners back to their city as they can. The more captives they take the more successful the expedition is judged to have been. All wars of conquest are fought with the aim of taking slaves; the Chaos Dwarfs are not interested in expanding their territories further, for the Mountains of Mourn and the Plain of Zharrduk contain all the wealth that they require. Sometimes whole armies of Chaos Dwarfs march against the Orc and Goblin tribes, subduing one tribe after another before returning to the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund laden with slaves. The Chaos Dwarfs also raid to the north, attacking the fierce horse-riding human tribes of the northern highlands, but these are distant conquests for them and the horse tribes often flee rather than fight. The furthest west the Chaos Dwarf armies have reached to date is the verdant valleys of Farside: the province of Kislev which lies in the eastern foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains. Smaller bands of Chaos Dwarfs have penetrated as far as the lands around Death Pass, where they have encountered the many tribes of Goblins that live in the western part of the Dark Lands.
[edit] Slaves and subject races
The Chaos Dwarfs trade slaves with the Goblin tribes, choosing to use the Goblins as intermediaries rather than advance further into the Old World. the burning altars of Hashut.
[edit] Associated creatures
[edit] Black orcs
Many years ago the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers tried to breed their own Orc race, a race of slaves that could work in the most hostile parts of their realm. They already had thousands of Orc and Goblin slaves, but the Chaos Dwarfs found them unruly and inefficient because they would as is their habit often fight amongst themselves. Using evil magic and careful selection, the Chaos Dwarfs created a new type of Orc: stronger than an ordinary Orc but more loyal and not given to squabbling.
The experiment worked at first, but the black orcs were far too independent-minded to make good slaves. They were well organized, often starting rebellions and leading the other Orcs and Goblins into armed revolt. After several near disasters, the Chaos Dwarfs decided to drive them from the city forever and many Black Orcs escaped into the Mountains of Mourn where their descendants remain to this day, while others undertook the long journey to the west and eventually reached the Old World.
[edit] Hobgoblins
During the height of the largest and most savage Black Orc rebellion the Chaos Dwarfs were almost overcome. Vastly outnumbered by their former slaves they were driven upwards through the layers of their city, fighting for each level, ascending ever closer to the Temple of Hashut itself. At the final hour the city was saved by the treachery of the Hobgoblins, who, having rebelled along with the Black Orcs, switched their allegiance once more and turned the tide against the Orc rebels. In doing so the Hobgoblins earned the enmity of the other green-skinned races who deeply distrust them to this day.
The Hobgoblins enjoy the favor of the Chaos Dwarfs and care little what other greenskins think of them. Unlike the Chaos Dwarfs’ other slaves, they are not made to work in the pits and workshops, but are used as warriors. They are sneaky, evil-minded race; other greenskins despise them and would certainly kill them were it not for the power they enjoy amongst the Chaos Dwarfs.
Hobgoblins are distinctive in appearance. They look much like Goblins, but they are taller, though nowhere near as burly as Orcs. In fact their whole appearance is thing and sneaky, with narrow eyes and sneering mouths full of pointy teeth. They ride giant wolves and often carry bows to shoot the enemy from a distance. The Chaos Dwarfs utilize many Hobgoblins in their armies but don’t really trust them. The Chaos Dwarfs know that the Hobgoblins are despised by other greenskins, and need the protection of the Chaos Dwarfs to survive.
[edit] Other
The Great Taurus is a huge winged bull with a tough hide and capable of breathing flame like a dragon. The Lamassu also has wings but is more intelligent and more Dwarven in appearance in many ways. Its face is like that of a grotesque Dwarf, while its front legs have claws; the back ones are hooved.
[edit] Chaos Dwarf war machines
- Mortar
- Bazuka rocket
- Tenderizer and Whirlwind
- Earthshaker Cannon
- Death Rocket
[edit] Naval forces
as described in Man O' War Plaguefleet
- Hellfire Battlebarge
- Great Leveller Battlebarge
- Thunder Rollers
- Hull Destroyer
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Warhammer Fantasy | |
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| Places: | The Old World, Araby, Cathay, Lustria, Ulthuan, Southlands |
| "People" | List of major Warhammer characters |
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